Global hop supplier Yakima Chief Hops (YCH) will present an entire month of events around this years hop harvest as celebrations and educations go virtual in 2020. YCH is a 100% farmer owned consortium based in Yakima, Washington which is the mecca for hop growers and suppliers in the U.S. if not the world. The 2020 Virtual Harvest experience will be free and open to the public with a behind-the-scenes look at the hop harvest and brewing seminars happening over the entire month of September.

More from a press release:

As a company owned by 15 hop growers from across the Pacific Northwest, the harvest season is the heart of Yakima Chief Hops. Each year, they invite brewers worldwide to experience hop harvest and attend educational seminars in person. This is a special tradition that helps to fulfill their mission of fostering deep connections between family farms and the world’s finest brewers.

This opportunity is typically limited to a few hundred select brewing customers and paid attendees through their annual Hop & Brew School. However, with the effects of COVID-19, YCH has announced that they will instead offer the hop harvest experience for free and to the public, virtually.

Lasting the full month of September, the event will feature different sessions each day, including farm and facility tours, interviews with farmers, hop and brewing related educational seminars and new hop variety announcements.

“This is a rare opportunity where we invite the world to see where great beer truly begins and meet the talented people that make it happen” says YCH CEO Ryan Hopkins. “We know that breweries are among the businesses that have been hit the hardest by COVID-19. We want to show our support by offering this event to everyone virtually for the first time ever while keeping our global communities safe.” 

Some sessions require fees for mailed materials and have limited availability. Session recordings will be made available, but participants are encouraged to join the LIVE Q&As. 

To view the schedule, visit virtualharvest.com. Participants are encouraged to enroll to receive updates.

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Yakima Chief Hops 

YCH is a 100% grower-owned global hop supplier with a mission to connect brewers with family hop farms. Operating for more than 30 years, we have become more than a hop supplier. We are leaders of innovation, quality and customer service. We are a resource for brewers, providing solutions-based products and industry leading research. We are advocates of sustainability and meaningful social causes, working to support the environment and communities around us. https://www.yakimachief.com/